Dream Catcher
by GigaDragonPuffMaster
Summary: The Sandman has always been the silent observer. Whats he to do when a young Guardian needs his wisdom? Not a Slash. Oneshot
1. Dream Catcher

The Sandman was a being of very few words. He had been that way for as long as he could have remembered. When he was human, he was a mute. He supposed that it was only right that he was a silent presence as a Guardian as well. He smiled at the memories as a human, because despite them not being all that he wanted, his actions lead him to be what he was today.

He strung out another wisp of sand to a group of houses. It had been almost a month since Pitch's defeat, and he was happy to see that things were back to normal. At least, as normal as they used to be. Sandy was by nature a bit of a loner. But since all that bad business with the Nightmare King, he and his fellow Guardians have maintained a much closer relationship. It was a nice change, being able to spend time with his Fellowship and the children.

He looked back at his streams of sand. They were waning with the children starting to enter a deeper sleep. He nodded and pulled them back to his center, getting ready to leave the area. As he rose on his cloud, something white caught Sandy's eye and he looked up to see a comet of white streak past. Jack flew by, guided by the wind. Sandy smiled and waved at him, but was unseen by the mild winter spirit. Sandy felt his smile fade a little. Something was wrong.

Normally, he would have let it go. Jack Frost was a bit of an enigma to be sure. Even North had trouble talking with him. He wasn't like the rest of them. Where as they had grown and accepted what the Man in the Moon had chose, Jack was still a child. He wanted to pave his own road, and Sandy couldn't blame him.

He sat on his cloud and turned it to face the direction the Winter spirit fled to. There was something nagging at the back of his mind, and he felt his back prickle where Pitch had struck him. Sandy rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully but when he felt the cold breeze blow again he made up his mind. He spread out his arms and let his cloud swirl around him, turning into a little plane. He smiled and adjusted his made up goggles. It was unnecessary, but what could he say. He supposed he was a child at heart too.

After a half-hour or so, Sandy was ready to stop looking. The thing with Jack Frost was that if he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be. Sandy stood on the top of a tree, forming a spyglass and looking around in the forest by Jack's home. Really, it shouldn't be called that. It was just a little patch of forest that had a constant cold breeze and snow. He knew that North had offered Jack a place to stay, but he had refused for some reason or another. Sandy sighed and waved his hand to get rid of the spyglass. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, thinking. Suddenly, he smiled. He had a rather genius idea. He swirled his arms in front of him for a moment, pulling a small stream of dreamsand from his center. It swirled around his head for a second then took off a little to the east. Sandy followed it for a mile or two, and then it stopped and headed down. He pulled it back away from the source and made it disappear. He floated down a little and landed softly on a large tree branch.

Jack was sleeping in the crook of the tree, his arms wrapped around his staff. Sandy raised an eyebrow at his odd stance, but moved in for a closer look. Jack had his hood over his face, but there was something wrong. The Guardian of Dreams felt his back start to itch again, and his mouth pursed when he saw the familiar look of fear.

Sandy closed his eyes and sighed, spurning a thread. He let it go slowly, allowing it to weave a pattern above Jack's sleeping crown. His eyes were half closed as he worked, trying to ease Jack's mind into a deeper sleep. Sandy was unpleasantly surprised when he heard the whimper of fear come from his young friend, and at the last second stopped the weave.

Jack threw his hand out that clutched the staff, blasting a frozen arc in front of him. But it wasn't the sudden wakening that surprised Sandy; it was that Jack screamed his name as he woke. Jack seemed groggy and confused, and he looked at Sandy with something that the older spirit couldn't quite identify. Jack groaned and rubbed his face, mumbling something incoherent.

Sandy patiently waited for him to get the sleep out of his eyes. He sat, twiddling his thumbs, trying (and failing) to look innocent.

"Sandy, what are you doing here?" He asked, removing the hood from over his face. Sandy remained silent, but turned to look at the damage done from Jack's dream outburst. Jack's jaw dropped and he leaned forward to touch the part of the tree that had frozen. The arc of ice cracked a little at his touch, and he sat back against the trunk running his hands through his silver hair.

"I didn't hit you, did I?" Sandy shook his head closing his eyes. A miniature Sandy appeared over his head, but with better-defined muscles. Jack smiled and Sandy turned back to him, waving away the little figure of himself. "Right. Well, thanks for getting me out of that."

Sandy sighed and looked over at the younger Guardian. He waved a hand and a small Jack appeared, sleeping. It tossed and turned until it woke up with a start. Sandy watched as Jack's eyes got wide, but he took his staff and cut through the sand pictures.

"This is Pitch's doing. I just have to beat him."

Sandy shook his head, unsmiling as he made the pictures again. "Sandy, I know its him. I dream about this stuff every night since the whole-"

The older Guardian cut him off, creating a smaller version of himself. Pitch was behind him, and had his arrow cocked. Sandy raised his eyebrows as Jack rose to his feet and swatted the images away. He stomped to the end of the tree, and swung at the arc of ice. It shattered with a crash like breaking glass, causing the tree it had a hold on to split.

"What…What does that have to do with anything?" He heard Jack's voice crack. Sandy felt at a loss. What Jack needed to get a good night sleep wasn't dreamsand.

Sandy stepped onto the tree, and placed a warm hand on Jacks shoulder. Jack turned around and Sandy felt his heart drop when he saw the bitterness and sorrow. Sandy pulled the winter spirit down a little bit, and much to Jack's surprise covered his eyes with his hand.

"Sandy, what are you doi-"

Sandy's eyes went wide with the flashes of pain filled imagery that went flashing before him. Jack was floating in the middle of dreary darkness, surrounded by his wounded Guardians. He felt his heart lurch when he saw himself falling apart in front of Jack, over and over again. Jack carried the most pain from that battle, the Sandman sadly thought. The guilt was the one causing his bad dreams, hence why he couldn't fix it.

"No!"

He was brought back to reality when Jack slumped to his knees. His eyes were wide and frozen tears shed down his pale cheek. Sandy smiled sadly and sat down in front of the frozen boy, sighing and spurning a thread of sand. He turned it into a butterfly, then a little rabbit. A cat next that decided to rub its head against Jack's knee. Jack looked up at Sandy, who smiled. The cat turned into Jack, who was playing with a Jamie replica.

It then turned into a heart that was shattered, with the other Guardians having their backs turned towards it. They turned back around with open arms, and the heart went back together. Sandy continued on, even though he knew his features were drooping. Jack watched as the new formed heart turned back into the smaller version of himself, walking alone with Nightmares trailing behind him. Mini-Jack started fighting them off, but he was getting overwhelmed, but then a mini Sandman showed up and blasted them with sand.

Sandy waved his hand, dispersing the sands. He looked at Jack, then stood up. He took Jacks arm and tugged on his sweater, urging him to his feet. Jack wiped his face with his other arm and stood up. Sandy opened his arms to the winter spirit, smiling sadly. Jack wordlessly stepped forward and the wise tutor embraced the young Guardian, patting him on the back. He felt Jack tremble in his arms, and he knew it wasn't from the cold.

"I thought it was my fault…" Jack whispered, "when Pitch hit you with that arrow. I didn't get there quick enough."

Sandy shook his head and leaned back. He patted Jacks face, using his other hand to point at his heart. He moved his hand to his own chest, putting his hand into a fist and smiling. It was difficult for Sandy to explain to the younger Guardian what it was like for forgiveness, but when he smiled at him, Sandy thought he got it across very well.


	2. Beach Sand

**Hey guys. I'm glad to see so many people liked DreamCatcher. I was really just going to have it as a standalone one shot, but this idea popped into my head a couple days ago and I had to get it out. Btw, in case anyone is interested – I do have a Deviantart page that has some of these sketches and other little things on it. My pen name on there is DragonMasterKris. I've got a tumbler with the same account name. Anyways, enough of my insistent rambling!**

It was a mistake, Jack knew. But he couldn't help but be curious. After all, the Sandman was the one being that refused to take him to his house. Well, refused was the wrong word. Sandy was always very polite, and the last time the frosted teen had asked, the dream maker simply frowned and made a picture of a house and piles of garbage all over it.

Jack was supported by the wind, following the streams of dream sand back through the atmosphere. He knew that if he followed them for long enough, he'd find the Sandman and could follow him back home. Was it odd that Jack felt like he was betraying his friend? No no, he only wanted one look. One little look at the little mans house. Since being let into the workshop at North's, he needed to sate his curiosity.

Eventually following the streams paid off and he found Sandy, weaving dreams high above the city on his cloud. He passed underneath the cloud of sand, keeping out of sight. Sandy continued his work, unknowing that he was about to take home a passenger.

Sandy, satisfied with his work, patted the cloud to take him higher. It rose up and for a split second Jack was fearful of how high they were actually going. He kept to the cloud, which seemed to have its own aura he could hold on to. But the wind had to let go; it was too high.

Jack waved to the wind; silently promising he'd be back. Jack felt like he was on top of the world, all the cities and towns looked like little spider webs branching out from one another. He finally felt the cloud slow to a stop, and he silently cursed as he felt it start breaking away. In front of him though, something amazing was happening.

Gold seemed to start appearing getting bigger and bigger, and taking form. It was an enormous ship. A Dream Ship. Sandy must have jumped off his cloud, because it started to fall apart. Jack grabbed onto the nearest thing, which was the Ship's hull. Just like the cloud, it seemed to radiate its own Aura to hold fast again the high atmosphere. It was warm, Jack noticed. And like everything else that Sandy created, made of that beautiful golden sand.

The Ship seemed to react to Jack's touch; pulsating warmth and he felt it almost whisper a greeting at him.

"Hello, ship. Want to let me on?" he asked

It considered for a moment then opened its hull to him. Sand caved in and he floated inside, then it repaired its hull again. He laughed, and did a little victory jig. Finally, he was in Sandy's home! There was that unnerving little ball in the pit of his stomach. What if Sandy was upset with him? But the Ship glowed under his feet, and seemed to point him straight ahead.

The Dream Ship was huge, and very impressive. Sandy seemed to have everything, from large libraries filled with books, to what looked like an observation area to look down at the earth. Jack felt like a little kid in a candy shop; there were so many things to look at. The ship seemed to be giving him the grand tour, pointing him in certain directions to what it thought might peak his interest. It would hum happily as Jack stared in awe at the large statues that adorned the hallways, and the pictures depicting shooting stars.

There was one picture in particular that Ship pointed him to that Jack stared at for quite a while. It was Sandy, only…he looked different. He was floating there, holding…a mini ship. It was small enough to be held in his arms.

It was cute, Jack decided, as Ship pointed him along again. He watched curiously as it pointed a stream of light down a long hallway and to two huge double doors. Jack ran up to them, letting his hand touch the engravings of sand. Everything was stars and moons in this place, and Jack felt a grin plaster his face as the giant doors slowly opened for him.

This room was different from all the others though. All the other rooms had things in them, from books to really comfy couches (some of which he jumped on), but this room…

Inside there was only one thing, and that was a giant hourglass.

Jack walked up to it, and Ship seemed to pulse with every step. The sand flowing on the inside seemed different too, and didn't really flow like an hourglass should. Instead of one tube flowing down into the bottom, there were many. Hundreds, possibly. And the sand seemed to go whichever direction it wanted to.

Jack touched the side of the thick glass, but to his surprise didn't frost like normal. In fact, it only pulsated like the rest of the ship and hummed a silent tune in response to his touch. Curious, he walked all the way around it, trying to figure it out. It hummed with the ship, the sand dancing inside to the tune. Jack crossed his arms and laughed.

Suddenly the pulsing stopped as well as the hum. Jack whipped around to see Sandy standing at the doorway to the hourglass room, his expression going from surprise to mild irritation. But when he saw Jack's look of fear, he simply crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

Jack could say nothing as the portly man walked up to him and then beckoned Jack to lean in closer. Jack did, expecting the worst; but Sandy only thumped him on the nose with a finger, and tsked him.

Jack stood back up, rubbing his nose. Sandy turned to the hourglass and placed a hand on it, smiling fondly. It pulsed at him, then resumed its tune. The Dream Maker turned to Jack and dropped a shoulder and crossed his arms with an expression that seemed to ask "well?"

"This is awesome, Sandy. Your ship is huge!" Sandy smiled and Jack spun around with his arms out, "why didn't you want to bring me here? This is so cool!"

Sandy's smile seemed to droop a little without Jack noticing. He turned back to the Sandman, a huge grin plastered on his face. But when he caught that expression, his own smile faltered.

"Sandy?"

The elder Guardian rubbed his arms and seemed at a loss of what to say. Finally after a moment or two, he put a picture of himself in the air and then a circle in the middle. Jack felt terrible all of a sudden, and Sandy turned back to the hourglass, touching it softly. Although hit with an idea, Sandy nodded to himself then walked away from Jack and towards the double doors. Jack stood there, unsure if he should follow until Sandy waved him over.

Jack followed the Sandman down the hallway and into another room that he hadn't yet explored. This room was large as well, and there was a huge bed right in the middle covered by large pillows and blankets made of the same sand.

Sandy headed over to it and crouched down, pulling out a large treasure chest under the bed. Jack's face lit up and he floated over, watching Sandy pull a large skeleton key out from inside his robe. The winter spirit was excited to see what glittering treasure was lying in the chest, but Sandy simply chuckled silently and shook his head.

When he opened it, Jack felt a little put off. There was only sand. But it wasn't even golden; it was just…beach sand. Sandy noticed the disappointment on Jacks face, but it didn't make his smile falter. In fact, he smiled wider.

"Sandy, this is just sand. I mean, you can find this stuff at any beach." Jack said, picking some of it up and letting it fall through his fingers. "No offense, but this isn't exactly treasure."

Sandy looked at him with that all knowing look of wisdom and showed him a picture of a rocket ship with the beach sand and himself behind the wheel. He was being chased by…something. Something huge and dark. The rocket ship hit the moon, then careened towards the planet where it landed on a beach.

He smiled up at Jack fondly, and swept his hand through the sand. "This…this is from the beach that you landed on?" Sandy nodded, and made another picture of himself crawling out of the rocket ship that looked almost like his dream ship. He was hurt, and landed on the sand.

"You could have died… This was before you were a guardian, right?" He nodded, and showed him a picture of other pilots of more rocket ships, crashing into asteroids and other planets. Not another one crawled from their ship.

Sandy was the last one. He was the last pilot of these ships. Jack's expression was sorrowful as Sandy softly erased the pictures in the sand. He didn't meet the frozen teen's look, only smiled sadly at the contents of the chest.

"You're the last one?"

Sandy shrugged. He patted the floor of the ship and then pointed at the Moon through the window. Then he showed a picture of his ship trying to break through the planet barrier, but to no avail. Then he showed the moon glowing and a small version of himself sending dream sand.

"Don't…Didn't you ever get, you know…lonely?"

Sandy shrugged, but showed him pictures of himself standing with North, then Tooth. Bunny was next, and finally Jack was there too.

"Yeah, but…what about before that?" Jack asked, determined. "I mean, you were the first. How many years were you alone without any of the other spirits?"

He tried to think, but couldn't come up with an answer. How long had it been? How many centuries trying to repair his ship? How many years of trying to break through the atmosphere? How many of his brethren did he try to save as they burned up in the aura of the planet? Sandy must have looked terrible, thinking of all the past memories.

Sandy noticed and tried to sweep it away, but the sand seemed to make its own decisions. It made a picture of Sandy weeping by his grounded ship, and Jack felt his breath hitch for a second. Sandy clenched his fast and slammed the treasure chest shut, shoving it back under the bed with his feet. Jack was surprised when Sandy lost his temper, since it didn't seem to happen very often.

The dream weaver leaned back and covered his face with his hands. He hadn't meant to show Jack that little tidbit. What could he say? He was young at that point, and extremely rash in judgment. He hadn't meant to crash into the Man on the Moon, nor this planet. But now he was forever stuck here. And even though he was happy now, at the time he wept for his own misfortunes.

He turned to Jack to try and explain, but the winter spirit yanked him over and tugged him into a tight embrace. The Guardians stories were never ones that made children happy when they slept. Their stories were sad, filled with the death and destruction of entire people's, just for the glory of winning battles. His wasn't the saddest, nor was Jack's. But that was what made them so special. They had these stories so that the children they protected wouldn't have to live them.


	3. Man Talk

**I don't know why, but I thought this was a hilarious idea. Hopefully you guys think so too.**

North was sitting on his large armchair going through some papers that Phil off handed to him. Sandy was to his right, sitting in his own armchair and sipping on that sweet tea that he likes so much. It was a nice change, North thought. Normally he'd be alone since it's the start of the New Year, but since all the business with Pitch, the Guardians tended to hang out more often.

North heard a jingle and saw one of the elves trying to reach for Sandy's tea. The Sandman leaned back away from the elf, but this one was persistent. Sanderson looked over at North with a pitiful expression and pointed at the elf with a drop of the shoulder.

"Don't be afraid of hurting elves, Sandy. Just push him off, they know better."

Sandy tried, but he felt a little bad just shoving it off the chair. So he held him back with one arm up and took another sip of tea. North chuckled and shook his head turning back to his papers, but then the door to the workshop opened and Jack Frost floated in.

"Hey guys," Jack chimed. "Thought I'd drop in."

"Always pleasure, Jack Frost. How is South Pole?" North looked over at the fireplace where hot water from Sandy's tea still sat. "Hot chocolate?"

Jack shook his head, landing to sit on the back of another armchair. "I guess the south is okay. It's not as interesting though. Have you seen Bunny or Tooth?"

"Tooth is helping Bunny with Easter preparations today. We'll be helping him out day of, that way we can make up for last year."

Jack nodded, flipping his staff in his hands. Sandy noticed his odd quiet. But when Jack met his eyes, the frost teen smiled.

Sandy narrowed his eyes a little bit. That was not a normal grin.

"So, I'm curious."

"That's dangerous." North smiled, scratching something off on his paper. "Curiosity killed cats, you know."

"Well, Sandy and I were talking the other day…About mermaids?"

Sandy pulled in a gasp, but he was still drinking his tea. North thumped him on the back, shaking his head and when Sandy cleared his throat, the large Russian grabbed the back of his head.

"You told him about mermaids? Sandy-"

Sandy let loose a flurry of images trying to defend himself, and North leaned back in his chair releasing the Sandman. He glared up at Jack, and opened his hands asking for a silent explanation.

But Jack only smiled again and turned back to North. "It wasn't his fault. We were talking about Val, and mermaids just got mentioned."

"Jack, you are only child compared to us. You have no time for…girls."

Jack laughed, and almost fell off the chair. "North, I'm seventeen! I think I know a little bit about the opposite sex."

Sandy saw his chance and tried to leap off the chair towards the door, but North's huge hand wrapped around his shoulders and he was shoved back into the chair.

"You brought this up, so now is time for you to be man, Sandman." North growled, "Jack, we are Guardians. Our job is to protect children. Not make more of them."

Sandy covered his face with his hands. It wasn't really the talking about girls that got him. It was talking about the mermaids. His mermaids. He tried to control the flush over his face, but it was not to be helped.

"So…we could, you know… get with someone?"

North rubbed his eyes, his face hot with embarrassment. He turned to Sandy and shoved him on the shoulder, making him look up with a glare.

"Well? Can the spirits have sex Sandy?"

Sanderson rolled his shoulders and pulled at the turtleneck under his robe. North and Jack were staring at him, and he just wanted to sink into the chair. He nodded and covered his face with his hands. Then nodded again.

North laughed, and Jack had to laugh too. He loved these guys. He would have felt a little bad for Sandy, but it was just too glorious. Sandy looked at him from between his fingers and sent a picture of a skull and crossbones.

Jack grinned again and Sandy shook his head. He never should have told Jack anything. The kid just couldn't keep a secret.


	4. Deliver Me

Jack was in turmoil. Sanderson didn't need to see the boy to know there was something wrong. He could feel it in the air. The chill was biting; completely different then his normal demeanor. It was the end of January, so cold weather was still to be expected. But not this far out to sea, not this close to the tropical islands.

In fact, Jack normally avoided these areas if he could help it. It wasn't that he couldn't be in hotter weather, but he just preferred the cold. Sandy pulled his dreamsand cloud higher up above the cloud line. He wanted to try and see if Jack was still in the area, or if the storm that was brewing was the aftermath of his pain.

The Dream Weaver was not expecting Jack to fly passed him. The blast of frozen air that came off the boy chilled the normally warm Guardian down to the bones, and he careened back away from the draft. Jack didn't even look up, just continued to fly passed at breakneck speed. Sandy covered his face with his arm as the snow hit him, and he silently cursed the boy's powers. He didn't want to be found, Sandy thought. He was covering his trail.

He rubbed his eyes from the stinging wind, and tried to watch in the direction that Jack had fled, but it was too late. He was gone. But he felt the tug of the North wind and grimly smiled. It would show him the way. He pulled his dreamsand together and made a large sailboat, which the wind could carry.

The North wind billowed open the sail and Sandy smiled, adjusting his little skipper hat. Jack might be stubborn and difficult, but under his frozen exterior, he was still just a boy who needed guidance.

Sandy spread his dreams as he traveled along. Luckily for him, the streams of golden dream sand were pretty self-sufficient. The streams were much like an orchestra. They knew the sheet music, and Sandy was simply the conductor. He leaned against the railing of his golden sailboat and watched the streams do their job. The north wind still carried him further and further up, dodging winds and majority of hailstorms. They were still in the mid Atlantic, and Sandy sighed as he looked down at the clouds.

The spot of navy blue caught his attention, and the North wind slowed. Sandy nodded and waved away the sand. He floated down to where Jack was hovering, but kept his distance. He didn't want to make the boy feel like he was nosey; he only wanted to help. He'd come to care deeply for their newest Guardian. It had been many years since Pitch's defeat, but Sandy still felt blessed to have such wonderful friends. Shouldn't he return the favor?

He floated a little closer to the winter spirit, but Jack had the winds whipping around him. It wasn't until Sandy had gotten within a few feet that he noticed the bad state Jack was in. His hood was up, obscuring his face. But Sandy didn't need to see his face to see the tears. He noticed his hands, clenching and unclenching. The brown strap that held his staff (a gift from Bunneymund) was covered in a thick layer of frost. Blood dripped from his raw knuckles like a loose tap, and there was what looked like black sand in random spots all over his jacket.

He knew that blackened sand. They hadn't had much trouble with the Nightmare King as of recently, but Jack wasn't the type of person to go looking for a fight. Concern was written all over the Golden Guardians face, and he floated in closer using his dreamsand as a shield against the screaming wind.

Jack still looked down. Sandy could barely hear anything, the wind was screaming so loudly. As he drew in closer and closer, he felt his fingers and face become numb to the sheer freezing temperature that Jack was emitting. He swallowed and couldn't understand why he was so nervous. Why was he so scared?

He narrowed his eyes and reached forward.

Jack's scream ripped through him like a hot knife. His hood flew back, and Sandy had enough time to gasp before the boy lunged at him.

Sandy had never seen such a loss of control before. They all had this deep power. It was kept at bay by keeping yourself in check. Jack didn't know any better – no one had probably explained it. Something that North more then likely pushed aside in his rush for Christmas. And so because of this, Sandy certainly didn't blame Jack.

How could he blame the boy? Sandy leapt back as a swing came from him. It wasn't his fault no one explained – he pulled his sand together and created a shield; it echoed with a clang when Jack flung against it with an ice sword. He wanted to help; he needed to help.

Help. Help. HELP.

Jack was screaming inside his own mind, Sandy could hear him. The elder Guardian ducked as the sword came at his face again. Jack had lost control- and Pitch probably picked a most inopportune moment to start messing around with his mind.

Jack was stuck in a nightmare, and yet was still awake.

Sandy didn't have a choice. It was either knock the winter spirit out, or find out if decapitation really was fatal. Jack swung again and the Guardian of Dreams leapt back. He used his sand to wrap around Jacks leg and fling him back, knocking him off balance. The boy tried to right himself in the air, but it was too late. Sandy grabbed him from behind, one arm thrown around his neck and the other grabbing dreamsand to push into the opposing spirits face.

Jack flung his head back, catching the older guardian in the mouth. Sandy grunted and faltered back for a mere second, and Jack whipped around grabbing the smaller man around his thick neck. Sandy raised his arms instinctively, and caught Jack's other hand coming towards him.

Sandy grit his teeth and held the arm at bay. He held a very impressive ice shard- one that looked like it would hurt if it hit his delicate body. Sandy tasted blood and knew that Jack had cracked his lip open. He grunted with the effort of keeping the knife at bay. Jack was strong for a spirit, and it was unfortunate. Sandy whimpered as the knife came closer and closer. The wind was still whipping around and screaming, and Sandy had no choice. He was in a bind.

"Jackson…" He whispered. "P-please… stop this…"

Sandy bit his lip, his arms trembling to hold the boy at bay. The pressure on his chest was almost too much, and it gave him away when his lip quivered and tears streamed down his rounded cheeks. He gasped in a breath and shook his head.

He felt Jack push down harder on the knife, and Sandy gave one last whimper before Sandy felt his grip go on the boys arm. But as he lost his grip, he saw that familiar blue shine come into Jack's eyes. It was fleeting, but it was all that Sanderson needed. One second.

He pulled Jack towards him, putting the arm that held the shard over his shoulder. Sandy came in close to the boy's face and in one swift movement used his right hand to cover his eyes.

Jack yelped as Sandy threw him back. The dreamsand shocked away the nightmare, waking up Jack in the process.

He careened back and rubbed his face with a sleeved arm. Sandy floated a couple feet away, gasping and trying not to sob. He had never been so frightened in his life. Fighting your enemies was one thing…but this was Jack Frost. He cared for him, watched him. Fought together with him.

"Sandy…what-"

The golden guardian tried to swipe away the tears and blood from his lip, but Jack had seen. He looked down at his hands and dropped the shard of frozen water in horror. He started to gasp in a ragged breath and Sandy forgot his own fear and was immediately in front of the youngest Guardian, taking his hands so he wouldn't fly away.

Jack could not utter a word. He was so horrified and so disgusted by what he'd done, and Sandy could do nothing to make him understand it wasn't his fault. He could only grab the screaming boy and keep him clutched to his chest. The dreamsand floated around the pair and gently rid Jack of any remaining black sand, cleaning him of the dregs.

Sandy shushed him softly, pulling his cloud up to cradle them. His hands were trembling as he kept Jack close, and he cursed himself. He was the strong one, he was the one Jack ran to. It frightened him down to his core, and he closed his eyes, leaning his head against Jacks.

"I….I was so mad. I couldn't see straight. Jamie- Jamie doesn't see me anymore. I thought…He's thirty now, but…Pitch. He saw me. I don't know what happened."

Sandy nodded his head, rubbing up and down the boys back and rocking back and forth.

"I think he baited me. I don't remember, I can't remember!" He cried shakily, Sandy pulled him back so he could look at him. He shook his head and used the dreamsand to make a picture. It was Pitch, being a marionette and Jack was the puppet.

"Sandy, I- I could have killed you!" Jack tried to yank his arms back, but Sandy wouldn't have it. He grabbed at the fabric on his arms and yanked him back over.

He showed a picture of Jack, weeping. Pitch came over him and Jack slumped.

_When you are at your weakest. _He seemed to say. Jack swallowed and watched as Sandy's face became warped with emotion. Sandy choked back a whimper and grabbed Jack around the neck, pulling him towards him. Sandy shook his head in Jacks neck, and the winter spirit could do nothing- he could say nothing. He wouldn't have understood even if Sandy had tried to explain it.

It wasn't that Sandy was scared of Jack. He wasn't. He loved the boy. And that's what had hurt the most. Jack needed his family, and yet he was still trying to fight on his own.

**GOD WHAT ANGST. Literally, this wasn't supposed to be that dark, but whatever. Its 2 am, I've got a migrane- and instead of working on the other story I wanted to, guess what? You guys get angst. Haha. I've part of this as a comic on my Tumblr if anyone is interested to go look at it. Augh. I'm going to bed.**


	5. A Gentle Dandy

**This may or may not be a Jack/Sandy fic. You can decide that for yourselves. I always loved the idea of wishes and dandelions. This is what happens when I hang out at Ihop for like 5 hours drinking nothing but coffee. BUT HOT DAMN IS IT GOOD.**

Jack would have normally flown around, guided by the wind. But today, Sanderson insisted on walking.

Which, in on itself was odd. Sandy could barely walk regardless. He was so stout, and usually floated around any way. But Jack had to smile as he slowed to let the elder Guardian catch up; he had stopped at an empty lot and plucked a flowering dandelion.

He handed it off to Jack and raised one of his own.

"What, you want me to make a wish?" Jack asked, scoffing at the child-like demeanor. Sandy nodded, raising his own flower up. "I don't need any wishes, Sandy. Why don't you use it?"

Sandy shook his head and raised his other hand, making a flurry of shooting stars. Dandelion wishes streamed up and floated into the stars, and seemed to glow – eventually getting sent back down.

"So… What? These wishes will come true?"

Sandy shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his flower. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them up and blowing off the seeds. They floated around Jack's head for a moment before being taken by the wind, carried off to grow more dandelions.

Jack watched him clap his hands together as they floated off. The man was really an enigma. Jack twirled his own flower and raised an eyebrow. He never really did believe in those silly stories, but then again. He was Jack Frost and knew Santa Claus on a personal level. So who's to say it isn't true?

He smiled and thought about his wish then blew off the seeds. They were guided by the wind to mingle with the stragglers from Sandy's own flower, then headed towards the sky. Jack looked down at Sandy who was watching him intently, and pointed to his head.

"Well, I can't say, right? Otherwise they won't come true?"

Sandy smiled wisely, reaching over and taking Jack's cool hand. He tugged him and pointed further down the street, and Jack smiled and obliged him.


End file.
